Eck, Christopher J.Smith, Nathaniel Andrew2025-01-222025-01-222024-07https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14446/345831Trauma is not a novel phenomenon within the world or society. Kilpatrick et al. (2013) postulated that most individuals will experience at least one traumatic event in their life. Possibly the more disturbing truth about trauma is it can occur throughout all stages of a person’s life, sometimes even before the person is born (Narayan et al., 2019). These adverse childhood experiences (ACEs; Felitti et al., 1998) are generated by exposure to trauma while younger than the age of eighteen and can have life-long effects to a person’s mental and physical health. Protective and compensatory experiences (PACEs) serve as the antidote for ACEs (Hays-Grudo & Morris, 2020). Additionally, positive youth development (PYD) seeks to build the internal assets of caring, character, competency, confidence, connection, and contribution in youth (Lerner et al., 2005). The purpose of this convergent parallel mixed methods study aimed to examine the influence of school-based agricultural education (SBAE) on Ferguson College of Agriculture students’ (FCoA) PYD, PACEs scores, and time spent in an SBAE program. Five research objectives guided the study. The population for this study was all students, graduate and undergraduate, enrolled within the FCoA at OSU during the 2023-2024 academic calendar year (N = 3,313). Two preexisting instruments (i.e., the Positive Youth Development Inventory and the Protective and Compensatory Experiences Inventory) were used for the quantitative data collection process. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were also conducted using an interview protocol generated based on the 6Cs of the PYD theory. It was concluded that SBAE programs served as a positive, nurturing environment for the development of all 6Cs of PYD in FCoA students, and support networks enhanced resilience of students in SBAE programs. Recommendations for practice and future research were made based on the conclusion drawn from the study and guided by a new conceptual model introduced in the study: A protective pedagogical model for school-based agricultural education.application/pdfCopyright is held by the author who has granted the Oklahoma State University Library the non-exclusive right to share this material in its institutional repository. Contact Digital Library Services at lib-dls@okstate.edu or 405-744-9161 for the permission policy on the use, reproduction or distribution of this material.Dissertationpositive youth developmentSBEA